


The Force is Strong in My Family

by JediMara77



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Genre: Episode VII, Gen, Speculation, The Force Awakens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-21
Updated: 2015-05-21
Packaged: 2018-03-31 12:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3978655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediMara77/pseuds/JediMara77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A speculation fic featuring Luke Skywalker and Rey, based on the second teaser trailer from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I don't follow rumors or spoilers so this is all wishful thinking on my part. If only...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Force is Strong in My Family

Rey grunted and sprinted as fast as she could back towards her ship. She knew coming to this place alone was a horrible idea. She didn't care about Luke Skywalker or his crazy Jedi delusions. Yet here she was, running away from a pack of crazed animals in an attempt to deliver something to him. All because a Princess, an old friend of her mother's, had asked nicely. 

Nothing she did made the creatures leave her alone. She tried fighting them with her staff, then shooting them with her blaster. The blaster seemed more effective, but it didn't scare them off completely. If she didn't run faster it wouldn't be long until they ran her down. She'd survived scavenging the desert wastelands of Jakku and her first trip offworld in years was going to be the death of her. She shouldn't have been surprised.

She turned back around, jabbing her staff at one of the creatures nipping at her heels. It snarled at her and reared on its hind legs to pounce-- 

A stranger swooped in from above, landing in front of Rey and swinging a green blade back and forth in front of him. Rey's eyes widened, recognizing the weapon as a lightsaber. 

The creatures sprang away from the blade's arc, hissing violently.

"I don't want to hurt you." The stranger spoke firmly. "Leave us, and you'll be unharmed."

The creature in front took no heed of the warning and pounced. Sighing, the stranger flicked his blade and sliced the creature in half.

The stranger stared the rest of the creatures down and put more strength behind his voice. "Leave us. Now."

Rey brandished her staff, waiting for the next attack. But to her shock the creatures actually began to slink away.

When they were gone, the stranger finally extinguished his blade and turned to her.

Rey wasn't surprised to see the stranger was, in fact, the person she'd been looking for.

He removed his hood and smiled. "Hello there."  

For a moment all Rey could do was stare at the man in front of her. She'd heard so many stories and legends about Luke Skywalker, she'd almost forgotten that he was actually real. He was older now, with a thick beard and graying hair, and he wore simple clothes that reminded her of the moisture farmer he'd once been. It was hard to imagine that two people who'd grown up on desert worlds would find themselves in a hellscape like this.

Belatedly she realized he was waiting for a response. "Um, hello. Thank you."

She flung her staff over her back and picked up her pack, embarrassed to have been caught staring at him. "What were those things?"

“Those were frynocks.” Luke spoke as if he was talking about something as commonplace as the weather. “They're found all over this world. Luckily light repels them, and the Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded.”

The Force. “Too bad I don’t know how to use a lightsaber, then.”

"Here, let me get that." Luke took the pack from her and flung it over his shoulder. “I can teach you, if you’d like.”

Rey lifted her eyebrows at him, waiting for the punchline to the joke. None came.

“Right,” she drawled. So Luke Skywalker really was as insane as everyone claimed. "I'm Rey. Princess Leia sent me to find you."

"I know." Luke lifted his hood and gestured for her to follow him. “Come on, I’ll take you to my camp.”

“My ship is that way.” Rey pointed in the other direction, trying not to wonder what he meant by _I know_.

“My camp is closer, and the frynocks won’t stay gone for long. I'll take you to your ship in the morning.”

Rey rolled her eyes, knowing this was a lost battle. At least if she went with him she might get some answers as to why Princess Leia sent her to this awful place alone. She still had no idea what she was doing here. “Fine. Lead the way.”

It took less than five minutes to reach his camp. It was inside what looked like the remnants of an old village, and he led her to a small cave in the side of a rocky hillside. A fire burned outside, and Luke quickly stoked the flames.

As the fire grew bigger an old astromech droid rolled out of the cave, beeping incessantly.

“Calm down, Artoo. It's just me. Everything’s fine.”

As soon as the droid saw Rey its beeping grew even louder. She glanced back and forth between it and Luke, unsure what to do.

Luke ran a hand over the blue and white droid and smiled at Rey. “Sorry. He’s been starved for company. I think he misses Threepio.”

The droid blurted what sounded like a protest, and Luke laughed. “If you say so, Artoo.”

Rey settled down next to the campfire, sliding her pack off her shoulder and onto the ground. The astromech’s dome whirled back and forth, and its eye settled on her.

It whistled.

“He says hello,” Luke said.

Rey lifted her hand at the droid. “Hi.”

The droid looked at Luke and beeped mournfully.

“Yes, Artoo.” Luke ran his hand over the dome. “I know.”

Rey watched the two of them for a moment. She hoped BB-8 was doing okay with Finn and General Solo and Chewbacca.

“What’s he saying?”

Luke waved a hand. “Nothing important.” He rummaged around the camp, then handed Rey a cup of some sort of steaming beverage. “Here, drink this. You’ll need your strength in case the frynocks come back.”

Rey shivered and took a sip. The drink was warm and sweet, like a hot version of the tea she used to drink on Jakku. “They aren’t native to this world, are they?”

“I’m not sure which world they’re native to. Once I find out, I’ll be sure to never visit.”

Rey chuckled, then hugged her chest and rubbed her hands over her arms. Even without the predatory frynocks, this place gave her the creeps. “You live here?”

“I’ve been here for a few days, but it’s time to move on.”

“Why’d you come here in the first place? This isn't the nicest tourist destination."

“There was a massacre here. I came to investigate what happened.”

Rey’s heart beat faster, remembering what Finn had told her. “You’re looking for Kylo Ren, aren’t you?”  

Luke didn’t answer. He sat down across from her and took a long sip from his cup, like they were old friends sharing tea in some fancy shop. She had no idea what else to say to him, the man who had blown up a Death Star and been present at the death of the Empire, so she said the first thing that came to mind.

"How did you know who I was?"

Luke set aside his drink and placed his hands on his lap. “Han told me you were coming.”

Rey lowered her cup. “You’ve spoken to General Solo?”

“I speak to him often. He is my brother-in-law.”

“Then why did Princess Leia send me out here to find you?”

"I believe she wanted you to give that to me." Luke looked at the lightsaber, still clipped to Rey’s belt.

“Oh. Right.” She unhooked the weapon and placed it in Luke’s outstretched hand. “This was yours, wasn’t it?”

“It was my father’s. Then it was mine.” He ran a finger over the shiny silver handle before giving it back at her. “Now it’s yours--if you want it.”

She stared it for a long moment. The metal felt cold and heavy in her hand. “Why would I want it?”

“You’ll need a lightsaber if you want to become a Jedi.”

Her shoulders squared, going into a defensive stance. “Who says I want to become a Jedi?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

Rey rolled her eyes and tried to shove the lightsaber back at him. “Not on my own volition.”

Luke raised one hand and ran the other over his mouth, stifling a laugh. “I’ve heard that before.”

Rey’s hand clutched the ligthsaber tighter. It was time to change the subject. “What’s Kylo Ren looking for?”

This time Luke didn’t avoid the Kylo subject. He pointed at the lightsaber.

Rey dropped it. Her cheeks warmed, immediately regretting such a superstitious reaction. “What does he want with it?”

Luke shrugged and picked up the lightsaber, turning it over and over in his hand. “That part, I haven’t been able to figure out yet.”

“So why do you want to find him?”

“He was my student once.” Luke turned the lightsaber over one more time, thumbing the activation switch. The blade sprang to life, illuminating the camp with a bright blue hue. His face looked even more weathered in the low light, his eyes full of regret and sorrow, but also hope. “I never got the chance to finish teaching him.”   

Rey gave him an incredulous look. “And you think you can turn him good again?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time.” He met her gaze. “Although with Kylo I might need some help.”

She pointed at herself. “Me?”

He nodded, causing her to laugh in disbelief. She’d heard the stories about Kylo Ren and didn’t want to get within a parsec of the man.

“First you want me to use a lightsaber, now you want me to help you convert an evil megalomaniac? You really are crazy.”

Luke closed the blade and smiled. “Your mother used to say the same thing. Of course even she eventually admitted I was right.”

Even with the crackling fire less than a meter away, the silence that fell over the camp turned deafening. “You knew my mother?”

Luke placed the hilt at his feet. “She was my first student. She used this weapon until she learned enough to build her own.”

Rey’s jaw clenched and she fought to hide the anger that welled inside her. “Then you should know why my first instinct is to run away from you.”   

“I don’t blame you for that.” Luke swallowed a lump in his throat but didn’t break eye contact. “It’s taken me a long time to accept, but what happened to your mother wasn’t my fault. Nor was it hers. It was the Empire’s.”

“You mean the First Order,” Rey snapped.

“I don’t care what they’re calling themselves nowadays. They’re always the same.” He paused. “I made a lot of mistakes after she died, and now it’s time to stop. She wouldn’t want me jumping around the galaxy anymore, hiding from my responsibilities.”

“So you’re just going to reappear, and make everything all better again?”

“I’m not naïve. Just like I know everything wasn't my fault, I know I can’t fix everything myself. But I know people who can help, and I intend to call in all those favors I’ve earned over the years.”

She glared at him. “And what favor have you earned from me?”

“Nothing.” Luke placed a hand on her shoulder, his blue eyes peering straight into her soul, imploring her to listen. “I know the galaxy has painted me as some lucky hero who ran away when things started going bad again. I know they said I couldn’t handle the reality of happily ever after. But that's not the truth, Rey. That's not who I am. None of the stories people tell about me can change that.”

“Who are you, then?”      

“I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m a Jedi.” Luke spread his hands, palms up. “I’m just a man trying to make things right again.”

Rey shook her head, exasperated. “What does any of this have to do with me? Why should _I_ join _you_?”

“Because you have the same power I do.” Luke’s eyes twinkled, like he was remembering something from long ago. “And if you’ll let me, I want to train you.”

“You don’t know anything about me, much less if I can become a Jedi!” She snatched her bag from the ground and flung it over her shoulder. “Thanks for everything, but we’re both wasting our time here.”

“I do know you, Rey.”

Luke’s voice, so calm and assured, stopped her from stalking away from the camp. She turned back to him, and he smiled like someone catching his first glimpse of a sunrise after a cold winter’s night.

“I’ve been watching you your whole life.”

Rey searched his face for answers that had been eluding her for a long, long time. “Why?”

Slowly, Luke rose and closed the distance between them. Tears sprang to his eyes and his hand reached up to brush her cheek. Unlike before, she did not flinch away.

“Because you’re my daughter.”

 

 


End file.
